Wyeth to Negotiate With Diet Drug Claimants

Wyeth has initiated settlement discussions with an undisclosed number of plaintiffs who opted out of the National Diet Drug Settlement, which was inked in 1999 to address claims filed over Wyeth's diet drugs Pondium and Redux, the company said.

The goal of the negotiations, said Wyeth, is to develop a proposed process for settling downstream opt-out claims using a methodology for valuing different categories of claims, and provide a structure for individualized negotiations between Wyeth and the lawyers representing diet drug claimants.

Wyeth's announcement was sparked by a recent article in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which reported that plaintiffs' attorneys representing approximately 11,000 opt-out claims were involved in negotiations with the company. There are approximately 60,000 outstanding claims by individuals who elected not to partake in the 1999 nationwide settlement, according to the WSJ report, which cited sources familiar with the negotiations.

Wyeth noted the negotiations are unrelated to the recent announcement that it had agreed to amend the National Diet Drug Settlement to create a new claims processing structure, funding arrangements and payment schedule for certain claimants.

Wyeth's Pondium (fenfluramine) and Redux (dexphenfluramine) were recalled from the market in late 1997 after research showed that key ingredients in the drugs could cause heart valve damage. The drugs were one-half of the diet drug combination known as fen-phen.